~CC’s POV~
I hate waking up in somebody else’s house. I open my eyes, see the ceiling pattern and notice it’s all wrong, throw a silent rampage in my head and try to figure out where I am now. That’s the thing about being a drummer; your attention to detail is astute AF.

The TV was playing an early morning cooking show and I laughed when I saw the seriousness of it, because breakfast burritos exist and I don’t plan to do any cooking for a while. I shoved a bunch of random shirts and socks into a backpack and grabbed Andy’s phone. I took one last look around the place and thought man, I’m so glad I’m done with school.
Filled with coffee and greasy breakfast goodness I arrived at the Hospital and chatted up a hot nurse until Andy came out of his room in a Hospital gown. “Interesting outfit.” I smiled.

“Dude can you bring me something to wear? Everything had blood on it…” He looked away.

I handed him the backpack and he gave me a huge hug. “This guy.” Andy shook his head and looked at the hot nurse. “Laid back as Hell but he’s always prepared.” He wandered back to his room.

“Is that so?” Hot nurse looked at me and winked. She waited until he was out of sight before looking at me intensely. “He’s going to be a little dopey for a few days, let him sleep it off.” Are the words I took to heart but there was a list of serious symptoms to look for that I pretty much committed to another part of my brain.

“Do you think we can drive around for a while? It’s kind of our thing.” I was going to take him on a road trip either way.

“He’s going to need a lot of rest for the next few days.” She warned. I frowned. “But I think anything that’s going to get his mind off of things will benefit his recovery.” She smiled warmly.

I grinned, not that I needed her blessing to hit the open road with my best friend. “Thanks for all of your help.” Andy started wondering out of his room without shoes and a confused look on his face.

“Shoes are in the bottom of the bag buddy.” I called out.

“Aha!” He put a finger in the air like he’d invented shoes in that moment and shot me a tired smile.

I looked at Hot Nurse. “He’s out of it.” I confirmed.

“Oh yeah, he didn’t sleep much.” Her eyes widened and I wondered what kind of shenanigans I’d missed last night.

After a few more minutes of small talk with Hot Nurse, Andy stepped out of his room clean shaven with his hair slicked back, coffee in one hand and cell phone in the other, a huge smile on his face.


~Andy’s POV~
I wish I could tattoo the moment Emily said my name when I called her after the Hospital discharged me. You could hear the smile in her voice as she gasped “Andy!” and I felt like everything was okay.

“Are you going home?” She asked.

I looked at CC. “Where are we going?” I called out.

“Home! Get some rest!” My morning nurse Katie called from behind the desk.

I laughed. “Home, to get some rest.” I told Emily.

She laughed. “Somehow I doubt that.” She said.

I shot CC a knowing glance and he nodded as though reading my mind. We weren’t going home, there was a week’s worth of clothing in my backpack.

“I passed up a sweet EF2 on the way here.” CC said in the elevator.

“Sorry bruh.” I nodded, still on the phone with Emily. “Your car’s seen enough tornados.”

“Tell me about it.” He started tapping his hands against his thighs when the elevator doors shut.

“Is he talking about tornadoes?” Emily asked.

I looked at CC. “Tornadoes are all he talks about.”

He smirked and folded his arms. “Tell her we’re tracking an EF5.”

“What?!” Emily said angrily. “Tell him I want to see!”

I raised my eyebrows. “She wants to see it.”

CC smiled. “Tell her it’ll mess up her hair.”

“HEY!” She yelled. “I heard that!”

CC laughed and stuck out his tongue. “I’ll pick her up if she wants.”

My face dropped at the thought of meeting Emily. “No.” I said and shook my head, forgetting that she was listening.

“Oh.” Emily said quietly.

“I’m tired.” I wasn’t tired. I was dizzy and my ears were still ringing but the thought of her seeing me with a stitched up head and wrist, or maybe thinking of her seeing me at all terrified me.

“I should let you guys go.” Emily said.

“Okay.” I replied awkwardly. Do I tell her I love her? Are we at that point yet? “Emmy, I love you.” I said quietly.

“I love you too Emily.” CC added loudly.

“Dude shut up.” I punched his arm.

“What? I do.” He shrugged.

Emily and I laughed nervously. “I love you Andy.” She said quietly. The words started a small pulse somewhere in my heart that spread throughout my entire body. I bit my lip again and smiled.

“He’s blushing!” CC yelled.

“Really Ceese?” I leaned against the mirrored wall of the elevator.

“I’m probably blushing too.” Emily consoled.

“Videochat later?” I asked hopingly.

“Do you guys screw on Videochat?” CC said out of nowhere.

“CC!” I scolded. Emily laughed in disbelief at the same time.

“Now he’s really blushing.” CC said loudly.

“No, we’re not intimate.” I stated.

“Awkward.” Emily chimed in.

“I know, right.” I looked at the floor.

The lady standing in the corner of the elevator gave CC an odd glance as it stopped on her floor. “Have a lovely day, gentleman.” She said stiffly as she left. CC, Emily and I burst into laughter as soon as the elevator doors closed.

Finally leaving the Hospital became a blur of avoiding eye contact and trying not to think about the past few days. All of that became obliterated when I saw CC's new car.

"WHAT?!" I yelled at the car when he beeped it open. I did a full circle around it as though I'd never seen a car in my life. "I can't wait to see this on the road." The passenger seat seemed to be molded to fit my body.

"Road trip?" He grinned.

"Hellz yes!" I could feel my face light up in excitement.
As we drove the bright sunlight on the highway pushed my eyes closed. I shook my head from side to side and looked at CC. “Sorry.” I mumbled. “I can’t seem to stay awake.”

He looked at me for a second. “With this lovely weather.” He said in his best broadcaster voice. “You could probably get a decent amount of sleep before we catch a thunderstorm.”

“I’m trying to stay awake.” I clutched my phone in my hand but nobody was texting. I looked around at the endless fields. “Where are we?” There wasn’t much to look at.

“Well.” He glanced in his rear view mirror and changed lanes, accelerating so fast I felt the g-force push me into my seat. “You’ve been asleep for a solid two hours so we’re about 150 miles away from bullshit.”

Hypnotized by the road again, I felt myself falling asleep. “Ceese?” I asked as my eyelids became too heavy to keep open.

“It’s okay buddy. Have a nap.” He turned the radio down and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

“I’m sorry.” I folded my arms over my chest and pressed my head back into the corner of the headrest.

“No worries.” He said to the rear-view mirror, passing another car.

The loud sound of air coming in through the small window opening next to CC’s head mixed with the soft roar of the engine lulled me back to sleep.


~CC’s POV~
Andy is a gem. He has no idea how many times he’s awoke, looked around the car smiled at me and apologized a moment later. It’s a good thing the nurse gave him something to calm his nerves before we left the Hospital because having him asleep next to me is easier than talking about what happened. I felt like it needed to be acknowledged but forgotten at the same time. I also found it really hard not to glance at him while he was asleep and silently marvel at the fact that he’d survived given the amount of blood I had to scrub off his tiled bathroom walls.

I’d snapped Emily and Amelia a picture of Andy passed out and me sticking my tongue out next to him, he woke up right after I took the picture and I pretended nothing happened. I couldn’t recall a sunnier day on a road trip and it’s kind of killing my storm chasing alibi. Sooner or later Andy’s going to ask where the storms are and I’ll have to come up with a lie on the spot. If he wakes up I’ll tell him we’re in the eye of the storm, at this point he’d probably believe it.


~Andy’s POV~
We were still driving when I opened my eyes. I lifted my heavy head and tried to sit up. Sensing my struggle, CC floored the gas pedal and laughed as I rocked back into my seat. “Dude.” I said angrily.

“You mad bro?” He punched my muscle and pressed a button on the console. My favorite song blasted and I had to smile.

“I love this car.” I ran my hand along the dashboard and rubbed my eyes. “How long was I out?”

“Hours man. I snapped a bunch of pictures of you drooling.” He laughed again.

I laughed with him and stretched. “We headed home?” I tried to observe a road sign or anything familiar but it was pretty dark with a little bit of fog on the edge of the headlight beams.

“Yeah no.” He put a hand on his neck and glanced at me from the corner of his eyes.

I dug around my bag for my phone. “Dude it’s like midnight.”

“Yeahhhh.” CC was slowing the car down.

“Where are we?” The fog around the edges of the highway got worse as the car stopped.

“Relax, you’re not going to turn into a pumpkin.” CC shut the radio off and stepped out of the car.

I sat for a moment as he stretched and stood still. “Come on, stretch your legs.” He tapped on the window.

Stepping out of his car involved me steadying myself on the passenger door but when my legs stretched out I felt better. I inhaled the crisp night air and wondered what he was hiding as he popped the trunk open and passed me an energy drink. I finished it before the mist cleared the can opening.

CC stared blankly at me. “I have more?” He went to the trunk and passed me another can.

“I’m good.” I took it anyway and started drinking. “Where are we again?”

“I got lost a couple of hours ago.” He shrugged.

I looked away. “I saw your GPS.” He was driving me to meet Emily.

He slammed the trunk shut. “You need to see each other. It’s been four years.” He shrugged again.

“How would you know?”

“Mylife.” He replied.

The word stopped my heart for a moment, he’d seen my hidden Emily folder. If he cracked the folder, he saw every screenshot, every picture, every poem, the songs I’d written and the sketches I’d drawn. The wedding vows I’d written to Olivia originally had Emily’s name on them. He knew everything now.

“I was on your computer.” He folded his arms.

I threw the can and rushed at him, pushing my palms against his chest but he puffed his chest and barely stepped back from my push. I pushed his chest again. He resisted moving away.


~CC’s POV~
When Andy pushed me a third time I stepped back a few feet and looked him in the eyes. “Is this what you want?” I held my arms out in front me, facing my palms toward me. “Come at me bro.”

He flew toward me with enough force to send me flying backward, hitting the dust on the side of the highway with a skidding thud. For a moment he landed on top of me but I wasn’t going to let him win a fight against me. I wanted to show him that he still had fight left in him but after I took a punch to the gut I got a little angry and clocked him in the jaw before pulling myself away from the brawl and standing up again.

He remained on the ground, running his hand along his jawline for a moment before looking at me with pale blue eyes. “I’m sorry.” He said angrily.

“Andy I don’t want you to be sorry.” I brushed the dirt off my pantlegs with my hands. “I want you to live again.” He wasn’t responding which made me angry. “This thing with Olivia.” I raised my voice, throwing my arms into the air. “It’s bullshit! All of that was bullshit! She was killing you!” I was yelling into the night air. I could see the hurt in his eyes, I felt terrible.

“I thought she loved me.” He shook his head and sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. “I can’t go through that again with Emily.”

“It’s not the same.” I leaned against the trunk of the Lotus. “Emily is a different girl.”

The moonlight was hiding behind the clouds. There was bright white fog swaying around the head and tail lights hypnotically. He looked up at me with a raw pain in his eyes. “I’m the same guy.” His voice cracked. “I destroy everything I touch.” He buried his head in his arms.

“You weren’t the problem Andy.” I rolled my eyes and walked away from the trunk.

“I’M ALWAYS THE PROBLEM!” He screamed.

I opened my car door, feeling around underneath the seat. When I tucked the cold metal revolver into the waist of my pants my hands were trembling. Andy was still sitting in loose gravel on the side of the highway; his back rising slightly as he heaved sobs and cried into his arms perched upon his legs. I couldn’t stand seeing him that way. I never wanted to see him that way again.

I took the revolver out and grasped it by the front site and the frame, facing the grip toward him. “Andy.” I said quietly.

He looked up at me then down at the gun.

“It’s loaded.” If he wanted to kill himself, he had the chance. I swallowed hard, hearing the sound of spit go down my throat nervously as he took the grip in his hand.

His eyes turned an icy shade of blue as his shaking hand pressed the muzzle into his right temple.

He stared into my eyes for a couple of seconds but it seemed like a lifetime before he closed his eyes and slid his hand down the grip.

He placed a finger on the trigger, eyes still closed. His jaw stiffened as he clenched his mouth shut. I watched the muscles along his jawline tense.

His eyes closed tighter.

He took a deep gasp of breath and held it.

I stared in horror, not knowing what to do. I drew my breath in sharply and held it in, my chest rising as I drew myself up to my full height, preparing myself for the sound of a gunshot.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” He screamed when he exhaled, dropping the revolver to the ground.

I ran toward him and kicked it away, throwing my arms underneath his shoulders and lifting him to his feet. I pressed his head into my shoulder as he screamed and cried, feeling his body trembling. I tried to steady myself to support his weight but I felt like falling apart. “Let it out.” I rubbed my hand along his back and held him close with the other. “It’s not your fault.” I said sternly.

“She was everything.” He cried.

“She was killing you.” I said as his shoulder muffled my voice.

“She was all I had.” He cried harder.

“She was never yours.” I pushed his head forward with my shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “You still have everything.” I shook my head and smiled. “You never had Olivia.” It was hard to look him in the eyes and say what I needed to. “You were convenient for her at the time, now somebody else is.”

His eyes brightened as he looked into mine. I felt shivers run downward through my spine, it was like he was searching my soul. I looked away.

I was painfully aware that we were standing alone on the side of the highway, surrounded by fog, embracing each other.

“You’re right.” He said quietly. “Ceese.” He breathed in softly.

I looked into his eyes and swallowed a lump in my throat. “Yeah.” I whispered.

“Thank you.” He smiled and hugged me tightly, then stepped back and brushed the dirt off his pantlegs with his hands.

I put the gun back under my seat and blasted his favorite song before finding my voice again. “I’m still taking you to meet Emily.” I resumed driving.

“I know.” He eased his seat back and sighed.

I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. “What’s up with this fog bro?” I turned the music up and closed the windows. He smiled at me, shook his head and started singing along with the music.

Notes